Soccer fans call for answers after atlas vs. quertaro brawl

Mexico's soccer league also said it would pursue sanctions, without detailing who might be held responsible or what the sanctions might include.

Reuters

Update: March 7th, 2022 05:23 EST

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Mexico's soccer league on Sunday said it would suspend upcoming matches at a stadium in the central city of Queretaro where violent clashes left two dozen people injured and restrict visiting fans from attending away games.

The brutal attacks among spectators during the Queretaro-Atlas match on Saturday sent 26 people, mostly men, to hospital with three people in critical condition.

Mexico's soccer league also said it would pursue sanctions, without detailing who might be held responsible or what the sanctions might include.

"We have an immediate challenge to generate a clear and understandable response and effective punishment," said Mikel Arriola, president of Mexico's Liga MX league, at a news conference.

"We are not going to have any soccer activity here until the case is resolved," he added, referring to Queretaro's Corregidora stadium.

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Investigations into brawl

Arriola said owners in the league would meet on Tuesday to discuss further disciplinary measures, including for rowdy fan groups known locally as "barras," while government officials pursue investigations.

Liga MX suspended Saturday's match after 62 minutes with visitors Atlas leading 1-0, as spectators stormed the pitch. Social media images showed people being brutally beaten, kicked and dragged in seating areas and hallways of the stadium.

Speaking outside a Queretaro hospital on Saturday night, game attendee Hector Ramirez said some attackers wielded belts and knives.

"They hit me with a chair, and I have the bump right here," he said, pointing to his head. "Where do you get a chair in a stadium?"

The governor of Queretaro state, Mauricio Kuri, said some probes had been opened for attempted murder.

"Even though there are no deaths, we can't say this isn't a tragedy," Kuri told reporters.

Neither government nor league officials addressed what might have triggered the clashes, which were condemned by both the Queretaro and Atlas teams.

Fans being treated in hospital

Officials said people who appeared in photos lying on the ground, some covered in blood, were alive and being treated in hospital. Kuri said in a video on Twitter that some social media and news reports about victims who died from beatings at the stadium were false, adding that he had "no reason to lie or hide anything."

One man identified in a photo, in his 20s, was being treated for head trauma and light hemorrhaging, said Queretaro Health Minister Maria Perez.

The regional governing Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), which includes Mexico's Liga MX, has urged "strong" sanctions, while world governing body FIFA called on government authorities to deliver justice for victims.

"The violence at the La Corregidora stadium was unacceptable and intolerable," FIFA said in a statement.

Mexico will host FIFA's World Cup in 2026 along with the United States and Canada, marking its third time hosting the sport's biggest event.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — State authorities in north-central Mexico have suspended five officials after a huge brawl among fans during a weekend match left 26 people injured, three critically.

Guadalupe Murguía, the interior secretary of Queretaro state said late Sunday the private company partly responsible for security at the soccer stadium would also have its contracts cancelled.

Police were also at the venue when the brawl occurred Saturday at a match between host Queretaro and Atlas from Guadalajara, the reigning league champion, but were also unable to contain the violence.

The five suspended officials include police and civil defense employees, and three people responsible for planning and preparations.

All matches in Mexico's top division were cancelled Sunday and the league may impose bans on rowdy fans from attending away matches.

Showing just how bad the blood was between Queretaro fans and visitors from Guadalajara, in Jalisco state, Murguía announced that some of the men injured in the brawl — presumably visiting Atlas fans — would be given a police escort to the state line when they are released from hospital, to protect them.

Sergio Gonzalez/AP

The Saturday match was suspended in the 62nd minute after multiple fights broke out in the stands. Security personnel opened the gates to the field so that fans, including women and children, could escape the stands.

Queretaro state authorities said Sunday that only 7 of the injured men remained hospitalized; 19 were released from hospital Monday, but three were still in critical condition.

They may have been the three men who were seen unconscious or badly beaten on the ground, being repeatedly kicked and pummeled in videos posted on social media.

Enrique Alfaro, the governor of Jalisco state, whose capital is Guadalajara, was asked Monday about local press reports the brawl may have involved local criminal gangs fighting visitors who purportedly belonged to the Jalisco drug cartel.

“What it seems to me is that what we saw was not a normal dispute between fans,” Alfaro said. “What happened there was something that looked different.”

Alfaro refused to comment on whether drug gangs were involved, but said “all I can say is that what we saw, because we all saw it, looked like something more than a fight between people. I am convinced of that.”

Pablo Lemus, the mayor of Guadalajara, said Monday there was a growing consensus that teams' “barras” — organized fan clubs that are often implicated in violence — not be allowed to attend away matches.

“What we want to avoid is having the barras of visiting teams in the stadiums,” Lemus said.

Mikel Arriola, president of the MX League, said it would likely adopt biometric or facial recognition systems at stadiums to identify troublemakers.

“We have to implement digital security measures to identify those who attend, starting with the barras,” Arriola said, adding he would propose at a club owners meeting Tuesday that those clubs be barred from their teams’ away matches.

FIFA, the international soccer governing body, said in a statement that it was “shocked at the tragic incident that took place at La Corregidora stadium in the city of Queretaro during the fixture between Queretaro and Atlas.” It called the violence “unacceptable and intolerable.”

“FIFA joins the Mexican Football Association and Concacaf (the North American soccer federation) in condemning this barbaric incident and encouraging the local authorities to bring swift justice to those responsible. Our thoughts are with all those who suffered its consequences,” the statement said.

After the melee broke out, players from visiting Atlas quickly fled to the locker rooms as did some from the Queretaro side. Other Queretaro players, including Uruguayan goalie Washington Aguerre, stayed near the bench trying to calm the fans.

After several minutes some of the fights moved to the field where they continued punching and kicking. Some people were armed with chairs and metal bars.

One fan could be seen pulling a knife to cut the nets of one goal. Others destroyed one side’s bench and some fought in the tunnel to the field.

In fact, violence between gangs of rival soccer fans is commonplace at stadiums in Mexico. Atlas has also had issues recently with violence among its fans. Last year, the “classic” with crosstown rival Chivas saw a brawl in the stands.

Queretaro Gov. Mauricio Kuri condemned the violence and said the owners of the Queretaro club would have to answer for what happened. He also pledged to investigate whether authorities or anyone else had been remiss in not quelling the violence.

“I have given instructions that the law be applied with all of its consequences,” he said. Both teams issued statements condemning the violence.

State authorities said some police were on duty at the stadium, but that it was largely staffed by private security officers. Video footage of the match suggested the security force was largely made up of female officers, who unsuccessfully tried to break up fights.

Large squads of police are assigned to security at some soccer matches in Mexico.

“The security at the stadium is a private responsibility, but despite that, I recognize that law enforcement was insufficient and did not act with sufficient speed,” Gov. Kuri said.

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